Get Up and Out

High School students celebrating a Latino Fiesta. Photo: Creative Commons

Get Up and Out

by Andrea Rodes

12/14/2016 - 05:46

in

Get Up and Out

December 14, 2016

Black and Latino students in California have lower test scores and higher rates of suspension than their white and Asian peers, according to recent report carried out by the Univesity of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).

Studies also show that teachers treat black students more harshly than white ones as early as preschool, and some have lower academic expectations for black students.

We see young black and brown men by and large as being threats. … I don’t think we humanize them enough", says Tyrone Howard, director of UCLA’s Black Male Institute, in an interview with the L.A Times.

“Hardworking” is the most common word the teens interviewed for the report used to identify themselves. For them, success was defined not just by grades and college but the ability to help their families and the people around them. Their usual narrative is “‘I want to get up and out.’”

One main conclusion of the report is that it's important to talk about successful black and Latino boys to encourage them to be better students.